Sections

Brian Burke should have been fired a long time ago

General manager Brian Burke (L) and SVP of Hockey Operations Dave Nonis of the Toronto Maple Leafs look on prior to the start of Round One of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft at Consol Energy Center on June 22, 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Granted, the timing seems slightly odd, but nevertheless, this is the step in the right direction.

The guillotine should have fallen on Burke’s head back in 2009 when he traded two first round draft picks and a second round draft pick for Phil Kessel. Not only did Burke get fleeced in the deal, but he also helped the Leaf’s long-time rivals win the Stanley Cup.

Had Burke not hastily pulled the trigger, the Leaf’s roster would currently include the following players.

Additionally, drafting Nazem Kadri was a complete and unforgivable mistake, demonstrating an inability to properly judge the diminutive forward’s character.

The London, Ontario native was picked by Burke seventh overall in 2009. He has yet been able to secure a spot with the team.

“His body fat today is probably in the bottom three to five guys in our whole camp and that’s unacceptable,” said Marlies head coach Dallas Eakins. “That’s the easiest part of coming into camp is eating correctly and training correctly… You make your choice. You can either go sit on the couch, put your feet up and have a bag of potato chips or you can go on the couch and put your feet up and grab some carrots and some apples.”

During his time in Toronto, Burke also failed to address the Leaf’s biggest concern: Goaltending.

“I would say for us goaltending…would be the biggest… need. The goaltending wasn’t good enough this year. I think that James Reimer is the real deal. I think we can still plan on him being the No. 1 guy.”

Anyone who knows anything about hockey knows that that statement is as laughable now as it was when it was made.

Handout

During the Leafs losing streak last March, Burke was quoted saying: “I’ve never had a team fall off a cliff like this before, I’ve had dips, slumps, rough patches, but this is akin to an 18-wheeler going right off a cliff, I don’t know what happened.”

As someone who is well-paid to lead to a professional sports franchise, this response is not acceptable. If a general manager doesn’t know how to fix an on-ice problem then they shouldn’t be employed.

Seriously, if handing Mikhail Grabovski a 5-year, $27.5 million dollar contract is the answer, what exactly is the question?

Not only did Burke fail to get the Maple Leaf’s into the post-season during his time in Toronto, but his comportment was at times deplorable. As the highest paid hockey executive, he would often interview on national television with an undone tie hanging around his neck like an unruly high school student.

Mike MacDonald is a news editor and writer at Postmedia. His writing also appears weekly in The Onion. When not working, Michael can be found playing crunchy grooves on his ukulele in his Toronto home... read more.View author's profile